Cabin in the Woods
by Fluttershy7120
Summary: On the last week of summer break, Alfred Jones gets an idea. Why not spend it at a lakeside cabin with all his friends? It starts out wonderfully, and everyone has fun. Little does he know, the woods is home to more than just critters, and trespassers will be dealt with accordingly... [[No relation to the movie 'Cabin in the Woods'. Rated T for future violence]]
1. C'mon, it'll be fun!

A blonde young man sat on his bed, books open on his lap and papers scattered over the blankets. School was to start up in only a few weeks, and he still needed to get summer homework finished. His forest green eyes scanned over the pages and he chewed on the end of his pencil as he worked out a difficult question in his head. He mumbled his thoughts out loud, trying to make sense of the problem. "If that's the square root, then x would have to...no, that wouldn't make sense..But maybe, maybe if you divided this number, then-"** '****Ring ring ring!' **

Right as he was beginning to understand, the loud ringing of his phone snapped him out of his train of thought. He let out an irritated sigh and picked up his cell phone from his bedside table, pressing 'answer' and putting it up to his ear. "Arthur Kirkland spe-"

"HEY ARTHUR!" He flinched and held the phone away from his ear as the person on the other end practically screeched into the receiver. After he seemed to quiet down, Arthur scowled and put the phone back to his ear. "What the hell do you want, Alfred? I don't have time to deal with you right now" He said, a British accent evident in his voice.

"C'mon, don't act like that! I got a great idea and you need to hear it!"

"If it's another one of your foolish stories about giving yourself superpowers, I don't want to hear it"

"No no no, it's not that! Though I do wanna tell you about this awesome lightning idea later. Anyways! Me and a bunch of guys got together and-"

"A bunch of guys and I" Arthur corrected .

A pause. "...What? No, you weren't even there" Alfred replied, sounding more than confused.

Arthur sighed deeply and waved his hand dismissively, though the action couldn't be seen by the caller. "Go on"

"Okay, so me and a bunch of guys got together and we were talking about how summer's ending and stuff, so we decided that for the last weekend we have of freedom, we're going up to my parent's cabin. It's gonna be awesome!" He said excitedly, and Arthur could tell that he was jumping around as he spoke.

"No. I am not wasting my time going to some old cabin with people I don't like" Arthur said firmly, twirling his pencil around his fingers absently as he spoke.

Alfred whined dramatically at that answer. "You _have _to go"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"No!"

"Yes"

"HA!" Alfred shouted, nearly blowing Arthur's eardrum. "You said yes! I'll text you the deets, start packing!"

Before Arthur could argue or even register what happened, Alfred hung up the phone and left the blonde to try to make sense of the situation. He put his phone in his pocket and pushed all the papers off his lap, swinging his feet off the side of the bed. Might as well go along with it, it would be much simpler than trying to argue his way out. Once Alfred set his mind to something, he could never be dissuaded.

The next morning, Arthur sat on his front steps waiting for the group to pick him up. He still couldn't believe that he agreed to it, even if he was practically forced to. He should have been used to Alfred's little tricks by now, he was beyond annoyed that he fell for this one. Despite that, he smiled as a cool breeze ruffled through his messy hair, finding the cool autumn weather to be rather calming. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the wet leaves after a night of rainfall, the indescribable smell of autumn.

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Sure, a weekend at a cabin with a group of rowdy teenagers wasn't his idea of fun, but it wouldn't hurt to have an open mind. He loved nature, so if he needed a break, he could just go out for a walk through the woods to clear his mind. That, or smack whoever was annoying him upside the head. He was rudely torn from his thoughts by a disruptive honking sound as a sparkling black Escalade pulled into his driveway. Arthur stood up and slung his gray dufflebag over his shoulder, walking across his lawn and towards the truck. He lifted the bag up and tossed it into the back of the vehicle, rolling his eyes as he caught sight of a brightly coloured stars-and-stripes patterned bag, knowing instantly that it belonged to the loud and proud Alfred Jones.

Arthur brushed off his hands and walked over to the rear door and pulled it open, hopping inside and settling into one of the empty seats. The first thing he noticed was the noise. He was the last one to be picked up, it seemed. In the driver's seat was the owner of the impressive vehicle, Alfred. Beside him sat his younger brother... Matthew, was it? He looked almost identical to the louder blonde, he usually forgot there even was a second brother. In the back seat was Arthur and two boys he didn't know all that well. Lovino and Feliciano, if he remembered correctly. Yes, the Italian transfer students. Before he could properly introduce himself or say hello, the truck suddenly lurched backward, back onto the road. Soon enough they were on their way to their destination, and Arthur couldn't help but wish that he stayed home.


	2. Unpacking

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry that the last chapter was so short, I just wanted to get something up and couldn't wait until I finished the second chapter. There will be a few more chapters of friendliness and settling in and such, and then the drama will begin, so in case you're only here for the horror/excitement, don't worry, it'll come soon. I'm a bit self conscious about this story, so favourites/follows/reviews are wonderful, seriously. It's a bit longer than last chapter, this one's four pages on Word. The updates may be shorter than you guys are used to, but they will also be more frequent. Sorry for such a long A/N, I'll let you guys start reading now.**

The sun was just starting to set as the truck pulled off the hidden dirt road and onto a gravel driveway. After a minute or so more of driving, it slowed to a stop in front of a two story cabin, surrounded by an array of brightly coloured trees that were just starting to lose their leaves. Once it came to a full stop, the doors opened and out came the group of teenagers, all smiling and laughing, Arthur had even begun to frown less. He had gotten motion sick at the beginning, not used to the speed Alfred was driving at, but soon enough he got over it and began to socialize with the others.

Alfred hopped out of the truck and grabbed Arthur's hand, practically dragging him to the house. "C'mon, slowpoke! Hurry up!" He urged, his signature grin on his lips.

"Oh, bug off, I can walk myself" Arthur snapped, tearing his hand away and following behind the excited American.

Feliciano ran ahead of them, acting more like a child at a carnival than a high school senior. His brother, Lovino, stayed back and grabbed his bag from the back of the truck. He hopped down from the tail gate and, in the process, accidentally knocked over a blonde teenager in the process. "Watch where you're going, Alfred" He said sharply, his lip curled up in a threatening sneer.

The blonde took a step back and instantly apologized, though he let out a defeated sort of sigh as Lovino spoke. "I'm not Alfred, my name is Matthew" He said softly, his voice almost too quiet to hear. He was stark contrast to his brother, personality-wise, but because of their similar appearance, he always got mistaken for his older, louder sibling. It was obvious by his tone that it wasn't that rare of an occurrence, he didn't even seem offended. He just seemed to accept it. Both had medium length blonde hair, bright blue eyes, same build, they were practically twins. The only difference in appearance was the way they held themselves.

Lovino frowned and looked him over, as if assessing if he was telling the truth or not. "Ah, well, stay out of my way" He said simply, walking past him without another word.

Matthew sighed and hopped up to stand on the tailgate, pulling the bags one by one over towards him. He quietly checked off each person's bag to make sure none were missing. "Alfred, check" He tossed an American flag pattern bag on the ground, taking care to drop it gently.

"Arthur, check" He dropped a dark green bag on the ground.

"Um...Feliciano, I think... Check" This time it was a rather...odd bag. It could even be described as childish. It was a pretty blue colour, but it was covered with small cartoon pictures of different foods, pizza and pasta seeming to be the most prominent. Matthew wasn't one to judge, though, so he simply dropped it onto the pile of bags on the gravel.

"And me, check" He slung his own white bag over his shoulder, instantly recognizing it due to the red maple leaf on the front. He hopped to the ground and picked up his brother's brightly coloured bag in one hand, and the two remaining bags in his other hand.

Matthew blew a pesky strand of golden blonde hair from his eyes and started walking to the impressive cabin, trying to keep the bags from touching the ground. He wasn't the strongest of people, so it took a few minutes and multiple breaks to get to the building. He nudged open the unlocked door and forcefully pulled the bags inside with him. Once he was indoors, he unceremoniously dropped the luggage and plopped his rump on the ground, breathing heavily as he tried to regain his normal heart rate. He was already not the most athletic person, so having to carry four bags, all at least fifty pounds, was far beyond what he was used to.

After a minute, Matthew took a slow, deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, brushing it away from his face. He pushed himself to his feet and picked up his bag, leaving the others on the floor for the others to get whenever they were ready. He wasn't loud enough to be noticed often, most likely the others wouldn't even realize he was the one to bring in all the bags. Just as Matthew started to step over the pile of luggage bags, he was barreled over by his very own brother. He yelped, dropped his bag and stumbled backwards, tripping over the pile and falling ungracefully on his rump with a loud thud.

"Oh! Sorry, bro! Wasn't looking where I was going" Alfred said with a bright smile, holding out his hand. Matthew gratefully took it and pulled himself to his feet, grimacing from the unpleasant mixture of shock and pain.

"It's fine, I didn't mean to be in your way" Matthew said softly, reaching down and picking up his bag. Hopefully this time he would manage to get to his room before dropping it again.

Alfred flashed a smile and ran off with a shout of "Thanks, dude!" over his shoulder. He raced into the kitchen and began opening up all the cupboards, searching to see what kind of food would be available for him during his stay. He had what people called an endless stomach, he could eat and eat and never be full, which was amazing for him but terrible for his hosts. "We have _poptarts_? This is going to be so awesome!" He opened the fridge and snooped around, getting more and more excited with every treat he saw. Alfred had asked his parents to stock up the cabin before him and his friends went up, and they definitely came through, as always. One of the perks of being a rich kid, he supposed.

After a few more minutes of looking around, Alfred took a small container of chocolate ice cream and left the kitchen with a satisfied look on his face. As he passed the pile of luggage, he picked up his eyecatching bag before heading up the stairs to his room. He paused at the top of the staircase and looked down the long hallway, noticing the fresh scent of newly waxed floors and the sheen on the dark hardwood. Slowly, a toothy smile appeared on his lips and his eyes glinted with a childish glee.

Alfred dropped his bag beside the stairs and took a small step back. He quietly murmured a countdown under his breath "Three..." He placed one hand against the wall behind him. "Two..." He crouched down a bit and adjusted the position of his socked feet. "One..." He took a deep breath and tensed. "BLAST OFF!" He shouted, his voice echoing through the halls as he suddenly raced forwards as fast as he could. After a moment of gaining speed, he stopping moving his feet and held his arms out on either side of him to keep his balance as he slid forward at surprising speed. He cheered as loud as his lungs would allow and laughed even louder.

A moment later, he looked up, having remembered that there was a wall at the end of the hallway, and found that it was much closer than he expected. He tried to slow down, but the combination of the wax and the socks on his feet prevented him from stopping, and if anything, made him go even faster. He flailed his arms in a last ditch attempt to stop himself, and closed his eyes tightly as he braced for impact.

'**THUD**'

Alfred was knocked back and fell on the floor, letting out a loud groan. He held a hand to his face and made a dramatic cry of pain, writhing around on the ground as well. Though, after a moment, he finally realized that he was in no actual pain. Wasn't it supposed to hurt to slam into a wall? After a considerable amount of time considering this, he finally blinked his eyes open to assess the situation. Instead of being in front of the wall he had been heading towards, he was instead a foot or two in front of a very tall, very confused looking young man. He scrambled to his feet after remembering that he had no reason to be on the ground, and brushed himself off, looking up at the tall man who seemed to be no less confused.

"You seem to have bumped into me" The man said, his voice coated with a thick Russian accent. Alfred's eyes widened in realization and he let out a quiet "Ohhhhh..." This guy, Ivan was his name if he recalled correctly, must have came out of his room right before Alfred collided with the wall, so he slammed into him instead of wood.

"Sorry, dude. Totally my fault. Thanks for saving me from a horrific death" Alfred said with a loud laugh. Most people would be at least a little bit embarrassed from the ordeal, but Alfred didn't even know what that word meant. His ego was far too big to be affected by a little thing like slamming into someone. Though Ivan's next actions did, in a way, affect him.

"Do not worry, little American, I make sure not to save you again. You will die horrible death, da?" Ivan said, his tone far too sweet for his choice of words. Without another word, he stepped past Alfred and walked down the hall to the staircase. Alfred watched him leave, a confused and weirded-out look on his face. "That guy is creepy..." He muttered under his breath. Once Ivan was for sure out of range, he walked down the hallway to grab his bag and threw it over to his own bedroom door. He took note of the slippery floors and used it to his advantage as he practiced moonwalking over to his room.

Alfred kicked his bag through the door and stepped inside, closing the thick wooden door behind him. He walked over to the huge bed in the middle of the room and flopped down on his stomach, taking a deep breath as he sunk into the thick blankets. This was going to be the best weekend ever.


	3. Getting comfortable

Slowly but surely, the house began to quiet down. Of the five people who had arrived at the cabin later in the day, four were staying in their respective room and unpacking their supplies for the weekend. Feliciano was still jumping around and examining everything about the cabin. They soon discovered that they were not the only ones there. Two other teenagers had arrived earlier in the day, not eager to spend multiple hours locked in a vehicle with many loud people. Ivan was one of the young men who had came early, and it would be a lie to say that the others were displeased that he didn't ride with them.

Ivan was the type of person who could send a shiver down anyone's spine just by looking at them a certain way. He never seemed to stop smiling, even when he was angry. But if someone ever managed to make him so upset that he dropped his hiding smile, it would be a wise decision to run the opposite way. He didn't seem to know the difference between playing and causing pain, and often times his affection came across as aggression. If being nice ended up being painful to the receiver, no one wanted to get on his bad side.

Alfred definitely wasn't the one to invite him, he tried to avoid Ivan as much as possible, and the first person who came to mind was Matthew. Of course his quiet little brother would invite someone as creepy as that to a weekend cabin trip. Matthew had always been the type to try to help others, making sure they had friends and someone to talk to, he just had a soft spot for the underdogs and loners. That would probably get him in trouble one day if he ever tried to help the wrong person.

The second person who had came early was Ludwig. It didn't seem like he would accept the invite at first, but then he heard that Feliciano was coming. It didn't take long after that for him to change his mind. The man in question was in his room, unpacking his things and putting them away. One by one, every item of clothes was taken from his suitcase that was lying open on his bed, and was refolded and put into one of the dresser drawers. Considering the wealth of the Jones family, he wasn't entirely surprised that each of the many rooms were fully furnished and decorated, made to look much like a resort hotel of sorts.

The tall, well-built young man brushed off his hands once he was satisfied with the folding of his clothes. He closed the drawer and turned around to put away his small suitcase. He clipped it shut and carefully spun the combination lock to all zeros, even though it was mostly empty, he still felt the need to keep it locked shut. Once that was done, he set it on the ground and slid it underneath the bed to keep the room tidy. Although he was only 19, he acted like an adult, as well as had the build of one. The blonde had a knack for leading, and most of the time took charge of meetings without even meaning to, he also couldn't stand childish arguments and strived to keep things in order.

"LUDWIG!" He straightened up and spun around just in time to be knocked back by a sudden, unexpected tackle hug. After half a second of trying, and failing, to regain his balance, he fell backwards onto the soft bed, his attacker still latched onto him. Ludwig's eyes widened and he forcefully shoved the brunette hugging him, but somehow that didn't detach him.

"Feliciano! Let go of me!" Ludwig growled. The Italian obeyed and jumped away, letting his gruff friend free from the bone crushing hug.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" Feliciano exclaimed. "I wasn't going to come because I didn't know anyone here well but then Alfred said that you would come if I came so I did! Isn't that great? Now we can spend the last weekend of summer break together with a lot of people and maybe we can have a campfire outside and make sm-" He was silenced by a hand held firmly over his mouth and a glare from his friend.

"You need to _breath_" Ludwig said with a slight frown. Sure, he was friends with the Italian, but that didn't mean he was able to always handle the constant flurry of words that came out of his mouth. "Slow down vhen you speak, do you understand?" Ludwig said slowly, waiting for some sign that Feliciano agreed.

The brunette quickly nodded his head and, once Ludwig took his hand away, went right back into the topic he was discussing. "We can have smores! Won't that be great? They put chocolate on them here, and it's so good!"

Ludwig let out a tired, exasperated sigh and simply gave up. It wouldn't do any good to stress out over the excitable teenager. "Ja, I'm sure it vould be" He said coolly. Suddenly, Feliciano grabbed his wrist and started pulling him out of the room, acting as if he was late to an appointment with the ministry of candy, both in a hurry and unbelievably excited.

"Ludwig, you need to see this! I finished setting up my room and I was hungry so I tried looking for the kitchen but-"

"_Breath!_" Ludwig interrupted, his deep, gruff voice leaving no room for argument.

Feliciano obediently took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled before continuing to speak at a much slower speed. "I was hungry, but I couldn't find the kitchen at first. I saw this and I ran to come get you! Isn't it pretty?" He slowed to a stop in the middle of the living room, in the center a circle of luxurious couches. Ludwig looked confused at first as he looked around at his surroundings. Sure, the room was nice, but it wasn't something to get so excited about. Then, he realized what his friend was talking about.

In front of them, the wall he expected to be there was none existent. Instead, it was made entirely of glass. There were a few lines of dark, rich wood that kept it from collapsing, but other than that, it was all glass. It started at the floor, the walls, then went up to the peaked roof. It was a window in place of a wall. Ludwig's eyes widened in surprise and he couldn't help but wonder how it stayed so clean. Alfred must have told his parents about the weekend getaway and they probably decided to clean everything before their son's friends came. That would explain the lack of a single spec of dust, despite the cabin not being occupied for the rest of the year.

It wasn't only the glass that was amazing, it was the view. From the front of the house, there was trees as far as the eye could see, their beautiful, colourful leaves just starting to drift to the ground. But this, the view from the window they were currently looking through, rivaled even the most wonderful of scenery. Instead of trees or bushes, there was a vast, shimmering lake, the reflection of the setting sun making the water look as if it were aflame. "Wow, I'm impressed. I vasn't expecting such a lovely location" Ludwig said, pleasantly surprised by the wonderful view.

"If it's nice and warm tomorrow, can we go swimming? Can we?" Feliciano asked, tugging on the taller teen's arm, similar to a child pestering their parent for a treat. He pouted out his bottom lip and looked up at Ludwig with his big amber eyes, doing his best impression of a sad puppy dog. Ludwig had both a soft spot for dogs and the cheery Italian, so it wasn't a surprise that he agreed. He tugged his arm away and ran a hand through his slicked back, light blonde hair. "I am not your parent, you may do as you vish" He said simply,. Feliciano had known him long enough to be able to translate his annoyed replies, and registered the response as 'Yes, we can', in normal-people language. Ludwig was a gruff kind of person who often came across as unapproachable and unfriendly, and although Feliciano wouldn't deny that was true, he had gotten used to Ludwig and became more comfortable. Sure, he was scary in the Italian's opinion, but he kept away the even scarier people.

Feliciano burst out in a smile so big, it was a wonder it fit on his face. "Thank you, Ludwig!" He said loudly, his high pitched voice filling the room and a few more nearby. The teen in question cringed as his ear started ringing from being so close to such a loud shout. "Mein Gott! Don't scream in my ear!" He snapped, but as he looked over at where his friend was a moment ago, he discovered that Feliciano had disappeared. Wise choice.

The brunette had ran out of the room instantly after he had made known his excitement. Ludwig was an amazing friend, but Feliciano knew better than to test his patience and stay near him, instead of leaving the immediate area. He left the impressive living room and instead decided to look around again for the kitchen. For what Alfred described as 'a pretty normal cabin', it was much, much bigger than was expected. But, as Alfred had grown up surrounded by riches and super-sized things, of course he would think the cabin was normal. To him, it was.

Feliciano blew a strand of red-brown hair from his face and walked down one of the many hallways, finally managing to end up at his destination without getting lost. He walked in the kitchen and his smile became even wider as he spotted his brother. "Ciao, Lovino!" He said, waving his hand in greeting.

Lovino looked up from the tomato he was munching on, and irritated green eyes met cheerful amber. The older brother softened slightly at the sight of his brother, but it wasn't noticeable unless the observer knew him well. "What do you want, fratello?" He said harshly, crossing his arms over his chest while keeping one of his hands free to hold his food. He leaned against one of the counters and waited for the usual high pitched, excited reply.

"Isn't it wonderful here? It's so nice! Tomorrow maybe we can have a campfire and make smores and Ludwig said that we can go swimming too!" Feliciano explained, hopping around the kitchen, from one cupboard to the next, searching for a snack.

Lovino's already foul mood seemed to dampen even more as his brother mentioned the blonde "I don't understand how you can deal with that stupid potato idiot" He growled, quite obviously having a sore spot for his brothers friend.

Feliciano pouted out his bottom lip and huffed "Come on, fratello! Don't be such a downer! It'll be fun! Why did you come if you didn't want to smile and try to have a bit of fun?"

"Because I need to make sure you don't do anything stupid. If you were smart enough to _think _before you do things, then I wouldn't be here"

"I think! I think about a lot of things. I think about food, I think about pretty girls, I think about naps, I think that I'm hungry" He ended his sentence rather abruptly as he grabbed a piece of pizza from the fridge, then left the room without another word. Lovino rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his brown hair, brushing it out of his eyes as he took another bite of his tomato. Sometimes his brother was unbelievably annoying, as much as Lovino tried to be nice, it was still hard to keep from snapping at him. He was rude to everyone he met, so the best he could do was be a little less hostile. He looked over at the window above the kitchen sink, taking in the beautiful view.

The stars had just began to show themselves, shimmering in the black sky as if someone had thrown glitter in the air and it got caught and held still by the gentle autumn breeze. The pale moonlight shone through the gaps in the tall trees and illuminated occasional bunches of leaves on the trees, like a painter splotching many bright, beautiful colours on a black canvas. For the first time in a long time, Lovino's scowl was replaced with a gentle look of awe, and his lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. He paused as he spotted a movement in the bushes. He leaned over the sink and closer to the glass, searching for the cause of the rustle in the dimly-lit leaves. He could have swore he saw eyes in the bushes.

He stepped back and walked out of the kitchen and into the next room, the large dining room. He slipped past the mahogany table and approached the sliding glass door, resting his hand against the handle. Lovino looked curiously at the trees surrounding the cabin, and slowly began to push his thumb against the lock mechanism, his light green eyes scanning for any movement or signs of animals. He snapped the lock down, unlocking the glass door. He stepped back and prepared to slide the door open.

"LOVINO!" He jumped at least a foot in the air as someone shouted his name, letting out a rather feminine scream of surprise. Once he regained his footing on the ground, he spun around to confront whoever startled him, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Before he could snap at the person, he now saw was Alfred, for bothering him, he was cut off.

"Come on! Everyone's waiting for you! We're all gonna watch a movie in the theatre room!" The blonde announced, grabbing Lovino's arm and dragging him out of the room.

"Don't touch me!" The Italian snapped, tearing his arm away and following behind the American, the unusual eyes in the bushes instantly forgotten.

Those same eyes reappeared and glanced towards the now unlocked door, a dark, eerie chuckle disrupting the calm atmosphere of the woods. The eyes vanished into the night, and the only sign that anything was there was a slight, occasional rustle as it made its way back into the deep, shadowy protection of the trees.

**[[So, do you guys like it so far? Ended it on a kind-of cliffhanger. Uh oh, Lovino forgot to lock the door~ Anyways, I absolutely love to see that people favourite/follow my story, it makes me so so happy. If anyone wanted to review as well, that would be amazing. I'll make sure to update regularly, hope you like it so far!]]**


	4. Movie night

After the movie had finished, all the teenagers were exhausted. Considering their early morning and long drive up to the cabin, they had reason to be. Feliciano had fell asleep in the first half hour of the horror movie, after being scared half to death by numerous jumpscares, and Ludwig had to protect him from Alfred, who was intent on showing off his artistic skills with a permanent marker. At the beginning, Lovino also seemed to drifting off, but snapped to attention once he heard what would be done to anyone sleeping, he knew that no one would stand up to keep him unmarked. He was just as tired, if not more, than his brother, but he didn't want to risk falling asleep near the sharpie armed host.

Alfred sat in between his brother and the arm of the couch, his knees pulled up against his chest as he watched the movie with wide eyes. He held a small pillow tightly, trembling in terror as the murderer on screen slowly snuck up behind the main character, who had been the hero so far. The killer lifted the knife in the air and swung it down, burying it in the hero's back. Alfred's scream combined with the screams of the victim, and the blonde grabbed his brother's arm and refused to let go.

Matthew let out a small sigh, but didn't object to his arm being used to comfort his brother. He knew that Alfred was a scary cat with horror movies, and being the sweet person he was, he never commented or teased him about his fear. He still didn't understand why Alfred liked them so much if he was that scared of them.

Arthur didn't seem fazed by the revenge-hungry spirits, pointing out mistakes occasionally. His knowledge about the afterlife and its creatures was actually quite vast, almost impressive. He kept making little comments here and there "No, no. Ghosts don't do that" "That looks like a Siren, not an eighteenth century ghost. There's obvious differences" "No, that's not how they kill. That's not even possible"

After a while, Alfred had thrown a nearby pillow at the Englishman to shut him up, peeved at him ruining the fun of being scared out of your skin, and Arthur simply rolled his eyes and stayed silent.

Ivan's response to the film was... Well, in one word, disturbing.

Instead of watching with reluctant and wary curiosity, he seemed to enjoy it.

Instead of flinching at the jump scares, he smiled. Though it was hidden behind the white scarf he always kept wrapped around his neck, Alfred could see the way his eyes twinkled and his pale cheeks were just visible enough over the scarf to see the way his upturned lips affected the uncovered parts of his face.

Instead of turning away or cringing at the shots of bodies or gore, he giggled. It was quiet, barely audible, but Alfred heard it. And it creeped him out. If he had to chose who would enjoy a job of performing autopsies or be a good murderer, it would be Ivan without a doubt. That guy was pure evil hidden behind a smile and a scarf, he was sure of it.

Once the movie had come to an end, they all stood up and stretched, except for Alfred. He was still trembling in his seat, staring at the blank tv screen with wide, terrified eyes. Ivan noticed, and a small smirk appeared on his lips as he slipped past everyone and stood behind the couch. As silent as a mouse, he slowly snuck up behind the American. Despite his height and intimidating aura, somehow Alfred didn't seem to notice. Ivan pulled his scarf down, uncovering his mouth as he leaned down and put his lips less than an inch away from the skittish teen's ear.

Alfred tensed slightly as the scarf hung down and gently touched his neck, but didn't take his eyes off the screen, quietly murmuring 'It's just a movie, it's just a movie' under his breath.

Ivan swallowed and readied his voice before he spoke. "Run, little boy" He hissed in the American's ear, his voice raspy and cold. Alfred felt the hot breath on his ear and shot up in the air, letting out a high pitched, absolutely terrified scream. In his haste to get away from whatever was hissing in his ear, Alfred toppled off the couch and fell on the floor with a thud that was barely noticeable over the piercing scream. He kicked himself away from the couch, laying on his back as he stared up at his attacker with wide, terror filled blue eyes.

Everyone in the room either yelped in surprise or jumped a bit, turning to look at whoever made such an awful sound. Ivan straightened up and looked down at the blonde laying on the floor, his lips turning up into an odd, pleased smile. "You scream like little girl" He said, his voice back to the sweet as sugar, accent-coated tone it usually was. He made a small sound of amusement in his throat and adjusted his scarf so that it covered his mouth once again.

Alfred looked up at him in shock, barely able to hear him over the pounding in his head, both from hitting it against the floor, and the blood coming from his rapidly beating heart. Before he could work out a response, the sound of laughing met his ears. It wasn't Ivan's quiet chuckle, so what was it? He looked over at the group of teenagers who hadn't yet headed off to their rooms, and his eyes widened even more, if that were possible.

They were laughing at him. Arthur had a hand up to his mouth, but it was quite obvious that he was enjoying Alfred's unnecessary fear. Lovino had burst into laughter, not even trying to hide it as he leaned against the couch for support. "Y-you should have seen your face!" He said in between breaths.

Ludwig had left as soon as the film ended, taking the sleeping Feliciano to put him to bed, so at least he didn't have to deal with those two, but-he narrowed his eyes as he saw that even his own _brother_ was having a laugh at his expense.

He absolutely hated being laughed at, so he decided to join in. At least they would be laughing with him, instead of at him. Alfred nervously chuckled and pushed himself to his feet "Ha ha, good one. Don't let your guard down, I'll get you back" He said, glancing at the tall teen who had scared him.

Ivan simply smiled, as if what Alfred said was amusing. "Nyet, you won't" He said gently. Alfred cleared his throat, a bit unnerved by Ivan's odd words. "Uh...Okay, I'm going to bed.." He said slowly, slipping past the group of people and walking up to his room. The group began to disperse, everyone heading off to their respective rooms.

As Alfred walked up the stairs to his bedroom, he couldn't seem to shake off the feeling of being watched. He walked down the hall and, right before he turned to go into his bedroom, someone grabbed him.

A scream escaped Alfred's lips and he pried the hands holding onto his waist, then jumped into his room and spun around, ready to attack. Ivan smiled down at the skittish teen "You scream like little girl. It is amusing" He said, dropping his hands to his sides "I will see you tomorrow, da? Have a nice sleep, Alfred" The ashen-blonde young man turned and walked down the hall to his own room before Alfred could formulate a response.

The shaky blonde ran a hand through his hair and shut his door, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. Ivan was seriously creepy. After a few minutes of deep breathing, he decided that his heart rate was at a safe level and turned off the lights, racing over to his bed and launching himself under the blankets before anything would have the chance to attack him. Alfred snuggled into his superman patterned blanket and closed his eyes, thinking of all the fun things they could all do tomorrow.


	5. Update

A/N

I"m so sorry for the lack of updating! I promise, it will continue. After all, I wouldn't give up on a story I've been planning for such a long time. I haven't had much time to work on the new chapter, but it's already halfway done. I promise, the story will be updated soon.


	6. Going swimming

Ivan stood atop a grassy hill, looking down at the sunflower field below him, the yellow flowers stretching as far as the eye could see. The sunshine beat down on him and warmed him to the bone, and a soft breeze gently pulled at the scarf that never left his neck. He closed his unusual violet eyes and tilted his head up to the sky, his lips turning into a peaceful smile as the sun shone down on him. He took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the warm summer air, fragrant with the unusual, yet pleasing scent of his favourite flowers. When he opened his eyes and lowered his gaze, he was greeted with a surprising, yet welcome sight.

A large group of people, ranging from the three freshman he always tried to 'show affection to' from school, to the boys he had went to the cabin with, to his very own sisters. Each held a bright, beautiful flower in their hands, and their voices sounded all at once, speaking in unison. "Let's be friends!" They spoke in perfect harmony, yet Ivan could still recognize each and every persons voice as individuals.

His eyes lit up and he walked down from his little hill, towards the group of people who all wanted to be his friend. His stomach filled with butterflies and the brightness of his smile outshone every single flower in the field. Before he could reach all of his friends, the sky began to change colour. Ivan slowed to a stop and looked up at the sky, which, instead of turning pink or orange similar to a sunset, it was turning white. A bright, almost blinding light, as if the sun had grown and filled the whole sky.

The Russian let out a small whine as the light became brighter and brighter, and he shut his eyes tightly to block it out. It burned, and soon enough he couldn't see anything but the absolute nothingness.

He slowly blinked open his eyes, suddenly finding himself back in the cabin bedroom instead of his lovely sunflower field. He let out a small sigh and snuggled back into the blankets, waiting for a few more minutes before he pushed the covers off and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood up, already hearing the loud, muffled voices of the other teenagers downstairs. The tall Russian picked up a small pile of clothes from the dresser and went into the bathroom attached to his room. He yawned loudly and looked in the mirror, frowning slightly at the current sight.

He ran his fingers through his ashen blonde hair to somewhat calm the messy bedhead. His violet eyes scanned over the bandages wrapped around his neck and he pulled his white scarf from the pile of clothes, wrapping it around his neck and making sure it fit nicely before beginning to get changed.

Once he was done, Ivan stretched and walked out of the room, the sound of yelling and laughter meeting his ears. A calm smile appeared on his lips and he began walking down the stairs, his feet hitting the wooden flooring with loud thuds, making his awakening known.

The laughing stopped. Arthur and Matthew looked up at where the sound had came from, exchanging glances and becoming unusually quiet. Arthur cleared his throat and looked down at the cup of the tea in his hand, swirling the contents around the edge. The younger brother went even quieter than usual, everyone did, except Alfred.

"Hahaha! He's so weird, right? And super crazy!" Alfred's loud, obnoxious laughter filled the room and, for some reason, he didn't notice the presence entering the room behind him."Seriously, who even invited him?"

Matthew stepped away from Alfred and moved to stand one the other side of the kitchen. Arthur followed suit, until they were both leaning against the counter opposite of the American, watching with nervous gazes as he kept on talking.

"He's Russian, right? I don't trust those guys, y'know. Have you ever seen him do anything but smile that creepy little smile? He's freaky! Probably planning something evil"

Alfred crossed his arms over his chest, not noticing the shadow casting over him. "And what's up with that scarf? He never takes it off. Probably an alien invention to send him signals from his home planet. After all, only aliens would think that thing isn't a total eyesore" The two young men watching the scene cringed, their anxiousness quite obvious as Alfred make that dangerous comment. Suddenly, a growl. How odd, Alfred didn't think there were any dogs in the cabin. Maybe a window was open and a coyote was outside.

"It was gift from my big sister"

Alfred instantly froze up, blue eyes widening in fear as he heard the accent-laced voice behind him. Why hadn't anyone warned him? Or at least given him a signal? Or told him to shut up? He slowly turned around, tilting up his chin so that he could see the tall teenager. He took a few steps back and uncrossed his arms, stuffing his hands in his pockets and laughing weakly. "Heh, yeah...uh, it looks...it looks great. Love the scarf" He cleared his throat and averted his gaze, trying to keep from looking at that creepy as hell grin. It was like hanging a flimsy sign in front of an snarling tiger, covering up an obvious danger with a smile.

When Ivan didn't give any response other than a slight widening of his smile, Alfred took another step back and jerked his head back slightly, trying to signal to one of the people watching to help him. "Love it. Really nice, seriously. Brings out your...Uh, your...that" He waved a hand in front of him, motioning to Ivan's whole body. "Well, I should...um.."

Alfred suddenly got his mind working again and thought of a way to get out of the current situation. "Hey guys! I promised we'd go out to the lake, come on!" He grabbed Arthur's wrists and began dragging him out of the kitchen, slipping past Ivan with nothing more than a nervous glance. Matthew stayed where he was for a moment, silently murmuring something about being left behind again. The quiet blonde looked up at the Russian and smiled softly "It does look nice, by the way. The scarf, I mean" He walked out of the room, following where the other two had ran off to.

Ivan stayed where he was, staring at the now empty spot where Alfred had once been. He took a deep breath and adjusted his scarf, pulling it a bit tighter around his neck. It wasn't an eyesore, in his mind. Of course not. That... _American _wouldn't know fashion if it smacked him in the face.

A few hours later, all the boys were out at the lake. The Italian brothers, Feliciano and Lovino, had finally woke up and come outside. Ludwig didn't come outside until Feliciano had forced him.

"C'mon, Arthur! Have some fun every once and a while!" Alfred shouted, splashing around in the water, laughing all the while. He was wearing hideously bright American flag shorts, but that couldn't even compare to the brightness of his smile.

"I'm perfectly fine staying dry, you git, now leave me alone" The Englishman said, annoyance evident in his voice. He turned away from the water and began to set up a towel on the sand, swimming definitely not on his list of things to do.

Feliciano was playing around in the water with his brother, and Ludwig swam further off shore, making sure to keep an eye on the careless Italian.

Despite the warm autumn weather, Ivan had opted to keep his scarf on, for one reason or another. No one had noticed him come outside, nor had they noticed him grab a metal pail from beside the cabin. His lips turned up in a smile and he quietly made his way over to the water. He checked to make sure that Alfred wasn't looking, before reaching down and filling the pail with water. He tossed one end of his long scarf over his shoulder to keep it from getting wet, then straightened up. He tightened his grip on the pail and aimed carefully before swinging it towards the shore.

'**SPLASH'**

Ivan quietly hopped out of the water, tossing the bucket over his shoulder and skillfully landing it a foot or two from Alfred, who cocked his head slightly and picked it up. "Where did this come from...?" He murmured, looking up as he heard a loud scream from the shore.

"ALFRED!"

The American froze up as Arthur glared at him, fury burning behind his forest green eyes as water dripped from his blonde locks.

"You. Bloody. Git!" Arthur snapped, blinking water out of his eyes as his lip curled into a snarl.

Ivan held back a laugh, an innocent little smile appearing on his lips as he watched the scene unfold.

Alfred looked around for some way to escape the approaching Englishman, taking a nervous step back and tightening his grip on the handle of the pail. Oh, wait, the pail! He tossed it over his shoulder and held his hands behind his back, trying and failing to look innocent. "W-what? I didn't do anything!" He said, his voice high pitched and anxious. He was in for it now.

'**THUNK' 'SPLASH'**

"OW! WHAT THE-" Alfred glanced over his shoulder as a flurry of curses, both in English and Italian came from the elder Vargas brother, currently holding his head and sitting in the shallow water. "CHE CAZZ-" Lovino was cut off as he was suddenly splashed with a wave, dousing his head and filling his mouth with water. Ludwig looked over and immediately began swimming over to make sure Feliciano hadn't been hurt.

"ALFRED!" Now yelled by two people.

Alfred looked back at Arthur, who was still dripping with water and glaring with a hatred that reminded him of a monster he saw once on a movie. That was a terrifying movie. That monster was now stomping over to him. Oh great.

He looked over his shoulder and cringed. Now Lovino was also coming over. Shoot shoot shoot "Uh, I...That was totally not my fault!" Alfred held his hands up in surrender, looking back and forth between the two. "Okay I might have hit you with that bucket thing but I _totally _didn't splash you!" He exclaimed, trying to convince the two young men to stop his advance.

Ivan chuckled, watching from ashore with a pleased smile on his lips. Alfred heard that little laugh and looked over at him, eyes narrowing as he realized what had happened. "I was _framed_!" He jabbed a finger at the Russian, looking to both Lovino and Arthur to see if they believed him. Unfortunately for him, they didn't. Now cornered by two angry, sopping wet young men, Alfred let out a small whimper, trying to think up a way to get out of the situation. When he couldn't think of such a way, he instead let out a loud, girly screech and bolted, unintentionally splashing both young men.

Alfred ran across the lake shore, glancing behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, when he suddenly slammed into something and was launched backwards. He skidded a foot or two across the sand before looking up to whatever he ran into. Or, whoever. "Oh! Hey Mattie! When did you get here?" He asked with a bright smile, quickly getting to his feet again. He didn't wake for a response before running past his brother and disappearing down the path to the cabin.

Matthew sighed and looked down at his feet. "I was here the whole time..." He said softly, to no one in particular.

Lovino and Arthur looked at each other, their scowls replaced with surprised expressions, shocked at the unexpected screech from the American.

Ivan let out a satisfied sigh and turned to walk down the path to the cabin, content with the amount of arguing he had caused, not realizing that leaving the scene would create much more fighting than he originally planned, and considerably more blood would be spilled.


End file.
